By Bonnie Withers After reading yet another horrific story about the Indian Boarding School movement which began around the 1870’s, I began to wonder if, even though most of the schools were run by the Catholic church, our Unitarian and Universalist forebears had been a direct part of this ill-conceived movement. It was reported in … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Indian Boarding School
By Bonnie Withers As we think about how we re-invent religious education, we might well seek guidance from one of our most influential forebears. Sophia Lyon Fahs was born on August 2, 1876 to missionary parents in China. She studied progressive approaches to education at Columbia, and continued those studies at Union Theological Seminary where … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Sophia Lyon Fahs
Nevertheless, She Persisted! By Bonnie Withers If you are looking for a UU woman for a role model, you need look no further than Olympia Brown. But beware! This feisty little woman will ask much of you. Olympia was born in a Universalist household on January 5, 1835. Her upbringing lead her to pursue education … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Olympia Brown
By Bonnie Withers Let’s take a dip back into the early history of belief in Unitarianism, specifically thatGod is a single entity. Imagine a street corner in Rakow, Poland, in the early 1600’s.A small crowd has gathered to watch yet another street corner debate between aRoman Catholic priest and…a Unitarian! Erasmus Otvinovius, a Polish knight … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Otvinovius
By Bonnie Withers When you consider our small numbers, our denomination has always had an outsized influence on the greater society. One renown reformer was Dorothea Dix (1802-1887). If you have studied the history of mental health treatment in the U. S., her name is known to you. In the period prior to the Civil … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Dorothea Dix
By Bonnie Withers Chances are there is a piece of Wedgewood pottery somewhere in your family china closets. For the beauty, durability, and ubiquity of this famous name, we can thank Josiah Wedgewood, born (we think) on February 13, 1730, in Staffordshire, England. He struck out from the family pottery business to invent new designs … Continue reading Josiah Wedgewood of Wedgewood Pottery
By Bonnie Withers Let’s do some time travel. It is May 5, 1819, and we are at the First Independent Church of Baltimore (First Unitarian after 1912). We are attending the ordination and installation of Jared Sparks and we have been told that William Ellery Channing will deliver a groundbreaking sermon. But we don’t hear … Continue reading What’s In a Name? The Baltimore Sermon
By Bonnie Withers If you are one of the MCUUF members who are engaged in the issues of prison reform and prisoner rights, you follow in a long line of forebears. Among the many early Unitarians and Universalists who fought for justice for the incarcerated, we remember Charles Spear, who was born on May 1, … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Charles Spear
By Bonnie Withers As World War II was beginning to take root in Europe, news of persecution caused great concern among American Unitarians. A network of relief workers and sympathetic politicians sent word to the US that 20,000 people were in need of emigration assistance. A temporary committee, the Unitarian Service Committee, was formed to … Continue reading Moments in UU History: The UUSC and the Sharps
By Bonnie Withers Have you ever visited Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Mass.? There you might have come upon the grave of a lesser-known member of the Ralph Waldo Emerson household. Elizabeth Sherman Hoar was born on July 14, 1814, to a prominent Concord family. She went to school with Henry Thoreau and his siblings. … Continue reading Moments in UU History: Elizabeth Hoar
